TX: TYLER Cities big and small in East Texas are getting ready for Monday’s total solar eclipse. As of Wednesday, only one county in East Texas had declared a disaster for the weekend of the event.
Several places in North and Central Texas have declared disasters for their whole cities or counties in preparation for this weekend’s eclipse. Van Zandt County was the first in East Texas to make that call on Wednesday. County Judge Andy Reese said that the biggest problem for the county is people trying to get into and out of town on Interstate 20. Van Zandt does get some tourists during Canton’s First Monday Trade Days.
“By declaring a disaster, it relaxes some of the rules and regulations that first responders have to adhere to on a normal basis,” said Reese.
This statement from the county is a safety step. This makes sure that the county has enough emergency workers in case they need extra help with all the people coming through the interstate.
“The first part of this year we have had multiple occasions of road rage on I-20, and that’s during a normal day,” said Reese.
On the day of the eclipse, cell service will be another worry for people in East Texas. Along the line of totality, people will take pictures and send them to all their friends. It is hoped that East Texas’ network will be able to handle that.
Griselda Anziano, a spokeswoman for AT&T, said that the company’s network has changed a lot since the last eclipse in 2017.
AT&T said that since the 2017 eclipse, their network has been upgraded from 4G to 5G. This will give people in East Texas and people who are just passing through to see history more help.
“To put it into perspective for you, 4G was like driving on the freeway, and now 5G is like driving on the autobahn, which means more lanes, more speed, and fewer cars along the way,” said Anziano.
Anziano also said that AT&T doesn’t think there will be any service interruptions or outages during the big event.
